Business Insider — Obamacare enrollment is one of the biggest comeback stories of the year
The first month was brutal. Amid a flummoxed rollout and technical disaster, the Obama administration was roundly mocked in October after only 100,000 people signed up for health insurance under federal and state exchanges created by the Affordable Care Act. One “tech surge” and five months later, enrollment in these exchanges under Obamacare is on track to surpass original goals, greatly beating revised expectations that were tempered after the first month. According to The Associated Press, enrollment was expected to pass 7 million. The Congressional Budget Office initially projected last May that enrollment in the taxpayer-subsidized private exchanges would be 7 million. They revised that number in February, amid still-lagging numbers from the law’s rollout.

Pasadena Journal — Celebrate National Public Health Week
The Pasadena Public Health Department encourages everyone to focus on health, healthy eating, exercise and a healthy lifestyle during National Public Health Week, celebrated this year April 7-13, 2014. There is a shift occurring in our nation’s health care system from one that focuses only on treatment of the sick to one that is also committed to proactively keeping people and communities healthy and safe. During National Public Health Week, ask yourself and get answers to the question: How do these changes for public health and the public health system affect you, your family and loves ones? This year’s theme for National Public Health Week is “Public Health: Start Here” which highlights the commitment by public health officials across the country to help people figure out the answers to that question, and also how to access the variety of options made possible by public health. National Public Health Week, www.nphw.org, is the perfect opportunity to learn how to navigate the changing world of public health and to better understand particular health issues impacting our communities.

Fox News — CDC sends team to investigate Ebola outbreak in Guinea
A five-person team from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) departed for Guinea over the weekend to investigate an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus occurring in the African country, a representative from the CDC confirmed to FoxNews.com. As of Tuesday, a total of 122 cases of Ebola have been reported, including 80 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health in Guinea. Suspected cases have also been reported in Sierra Leone, though none have been confirmed, according to the CDC. The CDC sent its team of investigators to Guinea at the request of the Guinean government and the World Health Organization.

Science Recorder — Party drug ketamine could help treat severe depression, researchers say
A new report published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology by researchers at the University of Oxford and the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust describes the first UK study of the use of ketamine IV infusions for sufferers of treatment-resistant depression. According to the University of Maryland Center for Substance Abuse Research, ketamine has been used in radiation and burn therapy, treatment of battlefield injuries, and for children who have adverse reactions to other anesthetics. Ketamine is generally preferred in many of these instances because it does not have as deep a sedative effect as other medications.